BooksBarbecue
Back Side by Side Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. Cover Page
  2. Half Title Page
  3. SIDE by SIDE
  4. Dedication Page
  5. Epigraph
  6. Part I: Fall
  7. 1.
  8. 2.
  9. 3.
  10. 4.
  11. 5.
  12. Part II: Crawl
  13. 6.
  14. 7.
  15. 8.
  16. 9.
  17. 10.
  18. 11.
  19. 12.
  20. 13.
  21. 14.
  22. 15.
  23. 16.
  24. 17.
  25. 18.
  26. 19.
  27. 20.
  28. 21.
  29. 22.
  30. 23.
  31. 24.
  32. 25.
  33. 26.
  34. 27.
  35. 28.
  36. 29.
  37. 30.
  38. 31.
  39. Part III: Rise
  40. 32.
  41. 33.
  42. 34.
  43. 35.
  44. 36.
  45. 37.
  46. 38.
  47. 39.
  48. 40.
  49. Acknowledgements
  50. About the Author

Dumbfounded, Kavita hides her shock by reaching for a copy of National Geographic from the bottom shelf of the magazine stand. As they wait to pay, she considers how incongruent her husband’s perception is from her own. How you can live a life with someone, and yet, not be living the same life at all.

On the way to the gate, Nirav tries to hold her hand, which she keeps hidden in her sleeve, and she lets out a faint whimper. When he asks her what’s wrong, she tells him she accidentally cut herself while making sandwiches for the wake. Silly bean, he calls her. She needs to be more careful, doesn’t she? He moves to the other side of her and takes hold of her good hand, thanking her for everything she did leading up to the service and after. She was his rock, he tells her. He couldn’t have gotten through it without her. He doesn’t bring up their fight, neither seeking an apology, nor offering one, as if whatever happened has been resolved in silence, as if by virtue of pardoning her, he himself has been pardoned.

At the gate, she flips through her copy of National Geographic and daydreams of jumping into the photos of exotic locales—bathing in the blue waters of Cuba, trekking on the sandy-coloured plains of the Savannah, and sailing the dunes of the Sahara. Of taking flight.

24.

The plane lands in the early afternoon. Without speaking, they disembark, wait in line at immigration, collect their bags from the carousel, and wait in another line for a taxi.

During the short ride to their condo, exhaustion begins to sink into her limbs as though her body is finally free to express the cost of the last few days. Leaning her head against the window, she gazes at the familiar surroundings, grateful for home and the cloudless sky. She craves the warm particulars of home—a scalding Epsom salt bath to ease the old-woman ache in her muscles, a strong cup of ginger tea, and Coal curled up on her lap purring in absolute bliss.

As they enter the condo, Coal welcomes them with urgent mews, brushing off his body against their legs as they pry off shoes and hang coats. Kavita picks him up, buries her face in his soft fur, and inhales his reassuring scent. They have a box of Marks and Spencer Scottish shortbread biscuits in her suitcase for her neighbour as a thank-you present for cat sitting.

Reluctantly, she sets him down, travels to the kitchen, and checks on his food and water bowls, while Nirav wheels their suitcases into the bedroom. She is about to top-up his kibbles, when the red blinker of the answering machine catches her eye: 5. 5. 5.